Something or Other
by evilsAfoot
Summary: When he was young Cas had never been able to resist Dean, and apparently now as an older, more mature specimen he was just as luckless. Dean needed a place to stay, and Cas had a place. What did it matter that they hadn't seen each other in nearly fourteen years? (domestic but not in the way we all want it to be.)
1. Chapter 1

**Sorry this chapter feels kind of short to me, I'm pretty sure the next one will be longer. This is not gonna be a very long fic (chapter wise) and while I don't have everything written out yet, I have the story mostly thought out. I'm gonna try and update as fast as possible, but this may be hard considering schools just started again. Anyway I'm gonna do my best and please let me know if this is worth continuing.**

When he was young Cas had never been able to resist Dean. He couldn't resist him when he was coaxed away from school and classes for the leather enclosed seats of his impala, and a promised day of ignoring responsibilities. And he couldn't resist him later when they rolled into the night on the cramped bed in Cas' room, hands wandering lazily over each other's bodies, arousal winning out over the need for sleep, though they knew there would be hell to pay if they woke someone up. So the likely hood of his resistance when they were older had never been high to begin with. What did it matter that they hadn't seen each other in nearly fourteen years?

Daphne had taken it all very well when they hashed out the specifics in the kitchen while Dean occupied himself with a shower, and honestly Cas hadn't expected any different from her. She sat at the kitchen table across from him, smiling gently, still wearing her scrubs from a day shift at the hospital."I didn't know you had a gay thing," she'd mocked amusedly, when he finally finished his story, excluding some of the more melodramatic details, "That's kinda hot actually." She quirked her eyebrow in response to his disgruntled huff.

"Well it's all over now," he countered glancing away from her glinting eyes and around the tastefully decorated apartment they had scraped together within the span of their established relationship. He could only guess what Dean thought of all this. Being the sleep on a park bench before domesticity type that he was, he probably thought it was all a big joke. "He's run into some troubles with his land lord and apparently I'm the only one who'll take him in," Sam was in California now, studying for the bar. Dean had explained it vaguely earlier that night when they sat at The Roadhouse with respectable space between them. He hadn't clarified the 'troubles' though which worried Cas because he knew Dean and he didn't want him around if his plan was to rampage the delicately constructed life Cas had built up.

Daphne reached across the table to thread his fingers between hers. Her smile softened, "If you think it's a good idea, then he can stay as long as he wants to... If he doesn't mind the couch that is."

"Couch sounds perfect," came the response from the doorway of their bedroom before Cas could decided whether, in fact it was a good idea. He turned, hand still joined with Daphne's, to find Dean leaning casually against the wooden fame, naked but for a Daphne's favorite salmon pink towel wrapped loose around his hips and a trade mark smirk that fit him as well as it had when he was twenty-two and pushing Cas into the walls of back allies. Cas glanced hesitantly at Daphne, gauging her reaction, and he supposed Dean was doing the exact same thing, since nothing was coincidence when he was involved. She looked startled, and Cas wondered what exactly about Dean made her so surprised. He was sure there was plenty to choose from.

"I'm Dean by the way, nice to officially meet you," he said stepping forward with an ease so repressed it made Cas' toes curl just to see it again. Daphne pulled her hand from Cas' to meet the one extended in her direction and smiled politely, doing her best to keep her eyes on Dean's face because that was the way she'd been raised.

"Nice to meet you too," She nodded before retracting her hand and folding it over the table as Dean sat down in the chair between the couple, still in complete disregard for his inappropriate state of undress. Up close the droplets of moisture still clinging to his skin were visible as they trekked their way down the sharp turns of his body. He'd filled out since they'd last seen each other, face as well as body, separate from the soft curves of youth, sharper and thicker than before. "Would you like some tea? We have a very nice collection if you're interested," Daphne offered, and Cas caught the jump in her cheek as she tried to school her expression.

"Tea sounds lovely," Dean's smile stretched from ear to ear and his eyebrows pulled towards his hairline. It was a bullshit detector look, one that Cas was familiar with because Dean would wear it every time he talked to Michael or Cas' mom. He was laughing at them, disrespecting the life Cas had chosen for himself, and it made his insides bubble, and his knuckles whiten from the pull of his clenched fingers.

As Daphne clanked around in the en-suite kitchen, Dean turned towards Cas with an audacious eye roll at her attempts of hospitality. Cas shifted in his seat, he knew Dean well enough to know he was doing this on purpose, and therefore refused to let his frustrations show. He'd always liked getting under his skin, and he refused to give him the pleasure of success.

**...**

_Ms Barns was late to class, and the kids were getting rambunctious in her absence. Some stood on the chairs smelted to the desks belting out profanities that could surely even make a sailor blush. Others occupied themselves with a game of paper basketball, throwing crumpled wads of their trash, dynamically as possible towards the metal waste basket sitting by the door. Most of the girls had grouped off into their own desk clusters filing their nails, and making goo-goo eyes at the more athletic members of their class, the very same that projetile vomited their testosterone across rooms just to gauge the attention of their fellow neanderthals._

_Castiel sunk further into his seat hiding his face in the crease of his arms in the hopes that if he feigned sleep his fellow classmates would leave him alone. At best school was sufferable, however when_ _the kids were left to their own devises for more than three minutes at a time the baribility of the day dropped to new lows, and the reserved junior could only hope that he would be left alone. _

_"Hya, Clarence."_

_It took all his practiced antisocial strategies to restrain a groan at the sound of the purring voice perched somewhere to his left. Meg Master's was arguably the worst part of his year, refusing to take the hint to leave him alone, and relentlessly stalking him like a lioness after an antelope despite his continuous resistances. It would almost be admirable if it wasn't so damn distressing. Attempting to keep up his act Castiel shifted, huffed a sigh, but kept his head tucked firmly beneath the fabric of his hoodie. If he was lucky she would buy the act and move on to fresher prey._

_"Tough luck, Clarence, I know you ain't asleep, so you can drop the act," Meg muttered closer to his ear, and he finally cracked an eye open to find her staring down at him_. _"Morning, Sleeping Beauty," she sing-songed and he supposed he could be thankful in the fact that her voice was unlike the irritably pitchy register of most teenaged girls, and carried at a lower rate. _

_"Meg," he sighed, finally sitting up so she wouldn't loom over him as much, and he could feel easier in his own skin._

_"Enjoying our free period?" she asked tipping her head with a teasing smile, and he had no doubt that she knew he would rather be anywhere else._

_"Immensely," he breathed then rubbed his hands tiredly over his face. What was the point of staying up to two in the morning finalizing the detail of a seven page essay on 'Hun migration patterns' if his teacher failed to collect it the next day._

_"I bet she's with the transfer student," Meg stated rocking her head back to swing her dark curls over one shoulder._

_Castiel's eyes squinted. He hadn't heard of a transfer student, nor did he want a transfer student. The school was lacking in neither male nor female and any further addition to the lot could very much tip the scale of the entire community that Castiel had learned to revolve around. "Who?" he finally asked, and Meg smirked, satisfied that she finally yanked forth his interest._

_"Dean something-or-other. Hasn't been here three day and everyone's already saying he's a hottie. I personally can't wait to meet him, Lisa Brendon says he has a thing for brunettes," Meg recited for Castiel's benefit, but he was already bored. Instead he snorted disdainfully, and Meg arched an eyebrow at him, "Jealous already, Clarence?_

_Don't worry I still love you most." _

_Castiel rolled his eyes, in this case he wouldn't particularly mind a little less love._

**...**

"Do you want some clothes Dean?" he finally muttered, more as a suggestion than anything. If Dean was going to invade his home after years of separation then he was going to act like a decent human being and dress like everybody else.

"I guess," Dean shrugged, lazily scooting out of his chair, following Cas back into the bedroom, and subtly pushing the door shut behind them as he walked in. Cas' insides jumped at the confirming click of their isolation, yet he thoroughly ignored Dean as he bent for the drawer of their wardrobe. He remained selectively oblivious to the burn of Dean's eyes as they landed on his ass while he bent over. When he turned towards Dean again it was to hand him the neatly stacked underwear, t-shirt, and lounge pants, folded with the precision of a store clerk because Daphne liked to keep things orderly.

Dean's eyebrow raised as he examined the clothes, but as some divine gift stayed silent. He did however drop the towel around him without so much as a warning leaving him bare as the day he was born, and Cas with a flush on his face. There was shame to be found at the seconds of his floundering before he turned in the opposite direction, and his frustration built though he knew Dean was probably loving every moment.

"Now, now, don't be shy," His voice was a low grumble and the rustle of fabric was the only indication that Dean had moved at all, "Not like you haven't seen it before."

"That doesn't mean I'm keen on seeing it again," he grit the response confidently, though he suddenly had no idea what to do with his hands. Not to mention Dean's doubtful snort that did little, but insinuate something long since barricaded in the recesses of Cas' mind.

"Whatever man," and Cas could practically envision the disinterested shake of head that no doubt accompanied his bland words. "What detergent do you use, this shit's damn soft," Dean exclaimed offhandedly, and he assumed they were speaking of clothes now.

Cas hesitantly turned around in time to catch him pulling the final piece of dress over his head, concealing that last bit of skin around his waist still tan from the summer. He felt more at ease now that Dean was dressed again so he hardly noticed the pause that hung over them as they looked each other over in the dimly lit room. Dean was as nice in his clothes as he was out of them. Being bigger than Cas, even as teenagers, the shirt clung flatteringly to his torso, and the pants sat perfectly, being typically loose on Cas. Daphne was always trying to buy him clothes his own size, but he stubbornly stuck to his old ones, reveling in the comfort founded in them.

"You'll have to ask Daphne," Cas finally answered his eyes climbing to meet Dean's for maybe the first time since they were twenty-two.

Dean smiled, different from his earlier leers. When he spoke he was quiet, but Cas knew it had little to do with the proximity of his girlfriend in the other room, "You look good."

Cas blinked, finding that corners of his lips were raising in their own version of joy, "So do you."

**...**

"You okay, Daph?" Cas asked even later into the night when they stood side-by-side in the bathroom, finishing their respective night time rituals. Dean was presumably passed out on the couch at this point, berried in blankets in case the heat gave out during the night as it was prone to do. They were finally alone, and if there were issues now was the time to discuss them.

"Of course," she stated definitely, but the skip in her eyes clued him to her doubts.

"Did you change your mind? Should I kick him out?" Cas interrogated, turning towards her to gently cup her shoulders between his hands. He rubbed at them with his thumbs in a soothing gesture. If his own qualms weren't enough to hinder him, then Daphne's surely would. One word from her and Dean would be out the door, after all this was her home as well as his, and Cas had made his choices regarding Dean long ago.

"No, no, don't be silly," Daphne scoffed, but she didn't shoo his hands, instead lifting her own to cover his. They were warm against his skin that chilled in the water of the bathroom sink.

"If there's something bothering you, you can tell me. I won't be offended."

"It's silly, really, it's just-" she cut her self off, but he willed her to hold his gaze, "I hadn't expected him to be so... well.. hot."

Cas smiled gently, "I'm offended that you ever doubted my taste in men." At this Daphne scoffed, and slapped a hand playfully across his chest.

"That's not what I meant," she protested, but before she could add anything else Cas pulled her in close, pressing his lips lightly to hers, then pulled away to look at her again.

"You have nothing to worry about. I don't care about him anymore, Daph.. and I love you." His thumb grazed across her cheek now, and she leaned into the touch, meeting his gaze again.

"I trust you," she sighed, "I love you too."

**So what do you think, should I continue? **


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, so not much longer than the last one, but meh who's counting? It's not a competition. As always, I'm sure you already know what I'm gonna ask, please don't hesitate to review :)**  
_  
"Hurry up will ya?" Dean called behind his shoulder as he dashed through the woods that progressively thickened the deeper they went.._

Cas ran after him, blindly dodging branches of lower set trees with admittedly less grace than Dean, and a respectable share of loyalty considering the fact that he had no idea where they were going. Thankfully, his years spent apart of the school track team were paying off and his speed stayed steady as his sneakers bounced over roots, treading through Dean's dust and kicking up his own in their wake.

Earlier that day Dean had pulled him from the fifth transition period and out to the back parking lot, promising something exciting as they slid into the Impala. The radio had blasted the entire journey and Cas smiled while listening to Dean's spurratic belts of familiar lyrics. He'd honestly been expecting Dean to show him some new porno store so he was caught off guard when Dean pulled off the main road and into the trees, jumping out of the impala, and commanding Cas to follow before sprinting off in the opposite direction. Cas had obviously complied.

They finally flew into a clearing and as the running came to its abrupt halt Cas spared a glance to their surroundings. The space was small and round with a circumference mostly filled by a dark pond and from the way Dean was kicking off his shoes and reaching for the hem of his t-shirt, Cas was beginning to suspect he was expected to swim in it.

"What are you waiting for?" Dean asked as he threw his shirt to the ground by his shoes, the fabric crumpling in on it's self on the clay shore, "Start stripping Fancy-Pants."

"I'm not swimming Dean," he stated plainly, and in conclusion, because he wasn't. Summer might've been right around the corner, but in Cas' opinion weather wouldn't be swimming appropriate for several weeks, and he didn't much care for pneumonia.

"Uh, yes you are," Dean countered already half way out of his pants at this point and Cas' eye followed down the trail of his open leg, skimming each blond hair dusting over his skin, "Now take your clothes off."

"No," he said, making Dean smirk that smirk that signaled their was no argument to be had. They both knew he would win in the end, the way he always did when Cas was involved.

"Do it or I'll tie you up and do it myself," Dean threatened leaving them in a tense silence as they stared each other down. Of course Castiel was the one to break, and he reached for his collar with a defeated sigh, tugging his own shirt over his head and plopping it on top of Dean's, just because. He never used to skip school, this was all new, introduced by the arrival of his classmate. Other things prescribed to the 'after Dean's arrival' list included, getting Bs on Calculus quizzes, his mother claiming he was giving her a stomach ulcer, and inappropriate erections budding after dealing with said asshole of a classmate. That was perhaps the most startling change of them all.

Dean chortled as his fingers slid into the waist band of his boxers, and Cas' eyes widened as he began to tug at them as well. His fingers froze where they were on his belt and he watched Dean shed his final layer barring the artfully rounded curve of his ass to Castiel's vantage point. Speaking of erections. Dean didn't waste any time, barreling into the water with a shrill call, splashing it every which way as he barged towards deeper ends.

"Dammit, how long does it take you to get naked?" Dean catcalled when he stood waste deep in the pond, eyes trained on Cas standing in his underwear on the orange ground folding his slacks as neatly as possible. He was suddenly feeling incredibly self conscious under Dean's piercing gaze.

"No wonder you're still a virgin!" Dean continued to tease. Cas could see his nipples from the bank, standing perter than usual, no doubt the water was frigid.

"I'm not getting naked outside, Dean, someone could see," was his measly answer though he wondered why he even tried anymore since it was a mostly futile activity anyway.

"Newsflash, Cas, no one wants to see your dick, so shut the fuck up and get in here already!" Dean slammed his fist down for emphasis splashing a mini tsunami into his own face, then spluttering it all out with an amused laugh.

Cas' eyebrows furrowed, and he breathed a last deep breath before sliding his loose boxer-briefs past his thighs and calves. The semi that had formed in his pants bounced free and announced its presence to his friend. Much to his surprise Dean stayed silent as the underwear finally tumbled over his feet. He glanced up with red cheeks, in time to catch the tip of Dean's smirk as he ducked completely under the water for a few moments. Castiel took the opportunity to slide in himself, it was only slightly warmer than he'd expected it to be. 

**...**

When Cas woke up the next morning it was from the cold and it only took him a moment to realize he'd kicked the covers off. Always having been a fitful sleeper, this wasn't an unusual occurrence, in fact it was something Daphne often teased him about. She'd wake up for the early shift at the hospital drowning in blankets, and he would be curled in on himself shivering. Regardless, she always fixed the blankets again before leaving, but it appeared this time he'd kicked them off after her departure.  
**  
**As was now, he was cold, and Daphne was gone, and though he'd never admit it out loud, what he really wanted was the press of a warm body against his in a good snuggle. Alas, one of the cons to dating a nurse was missing out on the morning pleasures of relationships (and occasionally late night pleasures when she worked the night shift). He blearily pushed from the no longer warm mattress, and shuffled into the bathroom, settling on a hot shower instead.

Habit, and momentary selective memory were to blame when Cas forgot to lock the door behind him. He thoughtlessly went through the motions, starting up the shower, throwing off his sleep clothes, then sidestepping behind the shower curtain to kick start his day. The water was soothing, and his body steadily rose to a more roused state as feeling returned to his fingers and toes. By the time he was washing shampoo out of his hair he was fully awake, and well on his way to completing the last chorus of Lay All Your Love On Me... It was a guilty pleasure. That of course was when he heard a shuffle from outside, as well as the sound of a running faucet. Cas' musical number was cut short, and with widening eyes he remembered that a guest was staying with them.

"Dean!" Cas exclaimed poking his head out from around the curtain to find the man was, once again, invading his privacy and leaning at the sink, a toothbrush (Cas' not to mention) working vigorously over his teeth and gums.

Dean glanced over, eyes as innocent as a lambs, and glowing vibrant green from the morning. He grinned despite the obstacle in his mouth, and foamed paste leaked from between his jaw, "Ohf, mernin' Cash."

"What the fuck are you doing in here? I'm taking a shower!" he hollered back. This was so like Dean, Cas would've been ready to strangle him if it weren't for the fact that he was naked, and still trying to maintain some semblance of dignity. Of course in the early days they had taken plenty of showers with the other in the room, and later when Cas'd moved out of his parents house, they started bathing at the same time, but now things were different. They hadn't seen each other in over a decade, not to mention Cas was in a committed relationship. He just couldn't understand why Dean was so keen on pushing his boundaries, when according to him, Cas was his last option.

Dean chuckled, and puled the toothbrush from his mouth. He cupped a handful of water to thoroughly wash out his mouth before shutting of the sink. When he finally turned to face Cas again there was a smug leer to his face. "I see you still have the same shitty taste in music," he commented, wiping his damp hands on the lent shirt he wearing.

Cas' anger erupted with a growl. Abba was a classic and Dean could go fuck himself with that shitty grunge metal of his, "Dean. Get out of my bathroom."

Of course it wasn't in Dean's style to abide by one of Cas' requests, and he stayed planted comfortably by the sink, backside tucked against the porcelain rim, "I forgot how cute you look with suds in your hair."

Cas couldn't be sure exactly what it was that threw him over. It could've been Dean's unfortunate pompousness, it could've been the aforementioned suds leaking down to his eyes. Whatever it was though, Cas couldn't keep himself grounded and before he was even fully aware of what was happening he was off balance and slamming into the hard surface of the shower floor, elbow colliding with the tiled wall at a calamitous force. "Fuck," was his last desperate call before the pain erupted through his tailbone and arm.

"Cas!"

"No! Stop right there!" Cas called last minute, his hand instinctively flying out in a 'HALT' position. He could actually see Dean's fingers twitch around the curtain ready to pull it back, and he might've been in a shit ton of pain but it wasn't nearly enough to let Dean spew mother hen all over him while he was naked and wet sitting on the floor of his shower.

"Cas... Come on dude, let me help you," and something in Dean's voice that resembled much of kicked puppy, made him hesitate. He looked himself over as best he could to find that his elbow was already turning purple and he could only imagine the state his ass was in.

It was with a heavy sigh that he finally responded, "Let me get out of the shower on my own, you can help me when I get out."

"Are you sure?" Dean asked after a pause in which he no doubt weighed the pros and cons of Cas' offer.

"Yes. Please. Just go wait in the living room."

He waited for the tell tail sounds of the door opening and closing before pulling himself up with a grunt. A shock of pain exploded over his butt and lower back, and if ever faced with a retelling of the story Cas would promptly leave out the muffled whimper that may have slipped from his lips. He washed any remanding shampoo from his hair as fast as possible before shutting off the water and drying off with the closet towel in reach, which just so happened to be the one Dean had used the night before. He quickly learned that it had somehow already developed Dean's sent as he lifted to his face while rubbing off his hair.

He exited his bedroom approximately ten minutes later, mostly dry and dressed in his casual wear (jeans, and an old t-shirt with bleach stains that Daphne hated with every bane of her existence). Dean sat on the couch that was still covered in sheets and blankets, looking oddly anxious and far from his usual overly confident self. Cas' eyes landed instantly on the pack of frozen peas gripped between his hands.

Following his gaze Dean shrugged in an almost apologetic fashion, "they were the only things I could find."

"Daphne keeps ice packs in the cabinet for emergencies," Cas explained offhandedly as he moved to sit beside Dean.

"That's idiotic, if an emergency were to actually happen they wouldn't be ready for use, exhibit A," Dean stated in a long winded scoff while examining the startlingly large splotch on Cas' arm. The defensive glare that Cas shot to Dean was slightly short lived when he flinched as Dean pressed the cold package to his bruise. Meanwhile, Dean rolled his eyes, "Sorry, sorry. All I mean is it seems like a kind of pointless practice."

Cas paused to stare angrily at Dean for a moment, "They last longer that way," he finally muttered, "She's a nurse, she'd know."

"Oh, so that's where she is then?"

"Yes... I can hold that myself you know," Cas said looking to the frozen pack of peas for clarification. Dean's thumb arched against it's lumpy surface, and Cas absently admired it's form. He's always enjoyed Dean's hands when he was younger, drawing on them in marker late at night when they lay in bed together and he was supposed to be studying for exams.

"You can hold this one, if I get to hold one to your ass," And in an instant Dean's wicked smirk was back, "I'm gonna go ahead assume that, there's another bruise there since you just about caused an earthquake when you landed."

"Fuck you, Winchester, you calling me fat?" Cas spewed back, but it was more playful than any of his previous comments. From the way Dean's smirk brightened the slightest bit he noticed as well.

"I don't think you could be fat if you tried Cas, I remember, I always thought you looked like a walking skeleton when we were younger," as he laughed one of Dean's hands moved to wrap itself tight around Cas' wrist, holding the pack down with a firmer hold.

Cas snorted, "Gee thanks."

The silence that fell after was tense, but not exactly uncomfortable. Both men veered their attention down to the bruise and the peas. Dean's skin contrasted sharply with Cas' in a healthy tan, the way it always had when they were younger, somehow even during the winter. The hand felt warm in comparison to the ice pack. How Dean managed to keep warm in this situation was unbeknownst to Cas, but he couldn't bring himself to care much.

"It's good to see you again Cas," Dean broke the silence and his eyes jumped to Cas'. All he could do was nod in response, his throat too dry to talk, and smile forced.

**...**

_The quiet that was settling over them was awful and the hairs on Cas neck began to stand the same way they used to when he was six and his room felt to big and dark at night._

"Dean?" his voice came out quiet and horse as he stared at the back of Dean's head. He hadn't cut his hair in a while, and the normally prickled fuzz trailing down his neck looked soft where it curled over his skin. Dean didn't turn to face him like Cas ached for him to, and despite how much he hated it something clenched painfully tight in his chest. His next breath came out in a shallow gasp.  
  
_"Do what you want, Cas. I honestly don't give a fuck," Dean's voice came out harsher than usual, and in all their time together he'd never used that tone on Cas before. _

_He knew of course that Dean was lying, that he did care, but it was the falseness in his words that finally made up Cas' mind. He closed his eyes to take his final steadying breaths as the room turned to sudden cartwheels. After a moment, when he he turned to leave he couldn't help wondering if they'd always been destined to end like that._


	3. Chapter 3

_"Shit, you're a fast fucker, did you know that, Clarence?" Cas slowed in his laps around the school campus and glanced over his shoulder to find Meg panting after him, her pale cheeks pink from exertion._

_"Shouldn't you be running with the girls?" he questioned in between his paced breaths. Both track teams practiced after school on Thursdays, but usually everyone stuck to their respective groups. Cas liked to keep his pace a little faster, this sent him further ahead of everyone else, but that was perhaps an intended effect since more often than not track was a way for him to clear his mind._

_"Screw the girls, I'm running with you today," Meg huffed out and he had to admire her perseverance in keeping up. Many people considered him the fastest of both teams, with Jo Harvelle as a close second, keeping up with him was no easy task. Anyway, Cas didn't respond this time, just kept running, arms swaying at his sides, and legs striding along the side walk. Predictably, the silence only lasted three seconds before Meg was talking again, "Heard you ditched out with Winchester yesterday."_

_"Well yeah.." If Cas hadn't been running he would've shrugged. He and Dean were constantly skipping school together, he was fairly certain this was common knowledge._

_"Well, I've heard some interesting things about him lately. I was just thinking.. Maybe you'd like to hear about them," Cas didn't particularly care what the school was saying about Dean since they were always saying something, but he was sure Meg would tell him whether he wanted to know or not. "You know Freaky Becky, right?" she continued, true to form. Freaky Becky, originally known as Becky Rosen, was the school's biggest gossip monger. Cas knew for a fact that her word was not to be credited, "Well she's saying Wincheter's queer." There was a small lull in the conversation and Cas could see Meg checking him up from the corner of his eye. When he gave no reaction she continued, "and I know Becky's always talking shit, but Crowley's also saying things. Says he saw him making out with some sophomore at the last football game... Some _guy, _sophomore." _

_Cas cursed himself at the small stumble in his feet yet he knew it was subtle enough for Meg (hopefully) not to have noticed. Either way Meg made no there were times that Crowely's word was no better than Becky's he seemed to know things that everyone else could hardly even begin to wonder about. The idea of Dean making out with someone, regardless of their gender, made Cas' head swim and not in a good way._

_After more silence Meg prompted him again, "So. What do you think?"_

_"I don't know," was his answer and it was a truth. He knew that it was a possibility, he knew that the idea made his stomach churn, an he knew that Meg was trying to achieve something by telling him this, he just didn't know what._

_It took him a moment to realize Meg was falling behind, and an even longer one, in which he threw a glance over his shoulder to check, to realize she had stopped all together. She was standing under a large old oak that protruded unevenly from the edge of the side walk, it's roots stretched out in uneven lumps through the pavement, and when running past them a jogger had to be particularly careful not to trip. Her skin was pale and he normally free curls tied up in a sloppy ponytail. It was in that moment Cas recognized that Meg had this distinct sort of beauty that no other girl in their grade had. Caught off guard by all of it, the stop, the uncharacteristic something in her face, Cas found himself breaking as well, turning around and pacing towards her._

_"Have dinner with me, Castiel," the seriousness in her voice and the use of his full name prompted a nervous thump through his chest._

_"I-" he tried but words caught in his throat. It was easier to reject her when she was playing around. When he had nothing to hide._

_"Right," she hummed after a while using the same monotone she usually spoke in, but for once Cas could see it for what it actually was, an equivalent to the way Dean smirked unfeelingly when Cas asked him about the bruises that sometimes appeared on his face and arms. There was an odd exchange of looks that for the life of him Cas couldn't make what they meant._

_"We should keep running," he stated, and when they ran the rest of the journey they ran in silence._

**...**

Having dinner together was Daphne's idea. It was from politeness, and Cas was sure her intentions were for the best, but the equation lined up all wrong. No way was having dinner together going to end in a good thing. She suggested it in Dean's presence of course so no matter Cas' attempts of weaseling out they ended up, for the second night in a row, cramped at one of the booths of the Roadhouse. That was Dean's idea. Ellen Harvelle nearly had an aneurism seeing them together again and so soon after the last time.

"Dean Winchester and Cas Novak, for the second night in a row!" She'd exclaimed from behind the bar as they seated themselves, "The Lord must be punishin' me for something."

"Oh gosh Ellen, if you treat your costumers like this maybe we should find a new place. What so you think Cas? Know any other places that sell cheep beer and cardboard burger patties," Dean called back cheekily, and Cas met Daphne's slightly startled gaze. In hindsight he probably should've mentioned that they'd used to be regulars.

It was around this point that Ellen surfaced from behind the bar to smack Dean around the head and smile a greeting at Daphne. Almost instantly her eyes narrowed onto their twined hands and Cas shifted uncomfortably under her scrutiny.

"And who's this?" Here eyes flicked from Cad to Dean who seemed more clenched than usual though his face sparkled in that usual devilish grin.

"Daphne Allen, nice to meet you," she smiled back herself. Cas thought she seemed more timid than her usual, and he noticed her hold tightening around his.

"She's Cas' girl," Dean added offhandedly. Ellen's eyes widened the slightest bit, whether it was at Daphne's title or Dean's indifference Cas wasn't sure, but regardless it made his teeth clench in frustration.

"Oh, well," Ellen finally sighed, then pulled a pen and order book from the apron tied around her waist, "I take it you two doofuses want your usual, how 'bout you, honey, you want a burger too?"

"Uh, no thank you, if you have a salad, that would be wonderful," She asked, and Cas could see Dean rolling his eyes in the background. Then again, they'd always teased Sam when he chose healthier meal options.

Ellen however passed no (obvious) judgment, "Sure thing. How about a drink? Beer fine?"

Cas couldn't help looking away when Daphne explained she didn't drink alcohol and ordered a ginger ale instead. She was about as different from Dean as she could possibly be, and he was sure that everyone present had noticed already. The tension was awkward to say the least. When Ellen finally finished, she tucked her order book back into it's pocket, and left the three of them to stew in their self inflicted awkward silence.

"So, they seem to know you guys pretty well here..." Daphne trailed uncomfortably, fishing for an explanation.

"You could say that," Dean huffed then sat back on his side of the booth, arms outstretched along the top edge, his body displayed like a Greek God.

Cas paused to send him a warning glare before facing Daphne himself, "Me and Dean came here through out most of college, and Ellen's daughter was on the track team with me in high school."

"Ah, I see," Daphne nodded.

"Yeah we were still together when we came here, so sorry if that was a little weird earlier," Dean explained unnecessarily, and the apology scrawled over his face was about as honest as a deal with the devil.

"I see," Daphne repeated. Cas had known this was a bad idea. Had Dean always been this infuriating or was he just trying harder than normal? Cas was annoyingly aware of the fact that he'd never wanted to strangle Dean when he was younger. Meanwhile the conversation continued as Daphne broached a topic she really shouldn't have. "Exactly how long were you two together?" She asked in a slow caution.

Humoring her, Dean kept a straight expression, replacing the typical shit-eating grin with a calculated thoughtfulness, "Well, if we met junior year of high school, and we were together into our early twenties, I'd say..." he hummed pensively, "Six years."

Daphne's eyes doubled in shock and she gaped soundlessly for a moment before gathering herself again, "Six years!" she coughed out with a smile, "Wow!"

"I wouldn't say we were together that whole time," Cas explained, quick to rectify what was already a lost cause.

"Yeah that's right, that's right," Dean waved his hands casually, "The first couple years was all bimonthly hand-jobs and Cas pinning after me."

A small squeak escaped Daphne, and Dean laughed, as Cas threw him the mother of all death glares, "How about you go check on our drinks, Dean?"

Dean smirked, smugness oozing out of him in metaphorical globs, before sliding out of the table and swaggering over to the bar.

**...**

_They were sat on the screen porch that stretched into the back yard of Cas' house, watching the sun setting behind the trees, and drinking beers that Dean had dug out from somewhere. The way he always did, when they were alone. It was quiet since all of Cas' family were out with their own things for once, so in a rare moment the house was left between the two of them. The evening air was cool despite it being late spring, but Cas liked it better that way. The only good to summer was the end of school, and he could get a two month break from the whole mess._

_Cas glanced away from the reddened sky to fix his gaze on Dean, sitting beautiful and with an impression of illumination under the glowing arches of the sun. He didn't find it odd that his mind supplied words such as beautiful when describing Dean... He thought it was honest. Dean was beautiful, and there was nothing much else to it. He hopped that they would continue to see each other, even when school ended._

_"You queer, Dean?" he blurted randomly before he could stop himself, and he supposed it was from the influence of his earlier conversation with Meg. Her words still ran through his mind in loops, like a broken record._

_Dean broke from his trance and turned lazily towards Cas with a crooked grin, "Why you askin', Cas?" his eyebrow lifted in an unspoken dare, making Cas' face furrow._

_"I dunno, I just am," his lips pursed disdainfully, but his eyes tracked the movement of Dean's tongue as it peaked out to flick against his chapped lower lip, "So are you?"_

_"Maybe I am," Dean shrugged unperturbed and turned back towards the sunset. Cas continued to stare at him. He really was beautiful._

_Cas sighed and turned away._

**...**

"Ow, ow, shit," Cas hissed, and his arms trembled from a sudden exhaustion. Pain shot through his lower back and tail bone, and he willed himself not to collapse because Daphne's slight body was under him, and slender as he was compared to Dean he was still a grown man with an above average height. Dinner had ended rather uneventfully, if Dean's persistent arrogance was to be ignored. Now at home it was dark in their room, and hot, the bed covers discarded to the floor, and even better the living room had finally quieted down. Cas and Daphne took the opportunity where they could get it.

"Cas? What is it?" she whispered back as worriedly as she could manage in the quiet volume_. _They weren't used to needing to keep quiet. As long as they'd known each other, whether it was in individual apartments or their own shared one, they'd lived alone. He'd forgotten how difficult it was to keep quiet during sex. Daphne's fingers squirmed anxiously under his shirt and over his belly where they'd been inching towards the waistband of his pajama pants only moments ago.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine," he exhaled slowly trying to get his body under control. In the midst of the commotion Cas had forgotten his morning injury and one exceedingly sharp movement had him almost paralyzed in pain, "It's all good. Let's keep going." But Daphne dodged away from his mouth as it moved to catch her lips in another kiss,

"Hey no, tell me what happened?" she demanded, the nurse in her jumping to the surface.

Cas' arms were still shaking a little bit and the position was becoming quite strenuous, still he played it off as cool as possible, "I may have slipped in the shower this morning."

"What! Oh my gosh, are you okay?" Daphne cooed her hands suddenly snapping from under his shirt and over the rest of his body as if searching out injuries.

"Yeah, it's fine Daph, don't worry about it, let's just-..." there was a strange sort of look in his girlfriend's eyes, "What?"

"It's just if you're hurt, and... Your ex-boyfriend is in the living room, maybe we shouldn't."

Cas' eyebrows furrowed, "You don't want to?"

"No, no! Of course I want to! It's just kind of.. weird," she finally huffed out her eyes subconsciously flicking to the door leading to the living room.

"Yes, I agree the situation isn't perfect, but we can't let him manipulate our lives," he stared down at her intently, "He has to revolve around us, not the other way around. Dean Winchester, is nothing, but a highly infuriating ghost of my past, and I refuse to let him effect me anymore than he already has. If we don't have sex tonight it'll be strictly because we don't want to, and for no other reason."

That was of course the moment something in the other room clicked and the joyous Scottish bounce of Craig Ferguson's voice, as well as his studio audience, faded through the crack of the door. It was nearly one in the morning and Dean was watching TV at full volume. Cas closed his eyes to re-group himself, then with a groan he rolled off Daphne and the bed, and stormed into the living room.

Daphne remained in the same position when the shouting erupted. In fact she bearily noticed it. She just laid there, and stared at the ceiling, contemplating.  
_  
_**...**  
_  
Initially it was the creaking of bed springs that woke Cas, but as his eyes sleepily fluttered open, he became more aware of all the sensations running through his body, like for instance, the warm hand bouncing up and down on his erect cock, and the similarly hard shape pushing into the top of his thigh._

_It was with those thoughts in mind that his eyes flew open and he sprang into a seated position only to be pushed down again by Dean who was sat with straddled legs and thrusting hips over Cas' knees. In a second attempt of getting up, Cas propped his elbows behind him and craned his neck down, staring with bewildered eyes first at Dean's hand smearing pre-cum from the tip of his cock to the base, then to his boxers that were somehow shanked down to his mid-thigh, and then rounding back to Dean who was leering down at him as always, eyes gleaming._

_"Dean, wh-" he tried but the words caught in his throat at the foreign sensation. Dean's hand was warm and tight and working him in such an expert way Cas couldn't help, but groan. Regardless his hands moved to bat Dean away, but again Dean's free hand moved to settle against him, catching Cas' and pressing them back to his sides._

_"Shut up, just lay back and enjoy this," he commanded working his hand up even faster and Cas' breath seemed to be pulling out of his throat in desperate rips._

_"No, Dean I," he rambled though he wasn't sure where he was going with it because any remaining thought flew from his mind when Dean's other hand snaked under his thigh to cradle his balls. Dean's own erection was ramming quite roughly against Cas' leg and judging from the erratic shivers that ran through his body in intervals he was enjoying himself as well._

_"You were hard, Cas," Dean muttered through gritted teeth. His hand continued to work him up and down, and at that point the muscles in Cas' neck gave up and he flopped back onto his pillow, eyes rolling back, and the low grumble of Dean's voice floating over his ears, "At the creek, I saw you, you were hard."_

_"I was-" Cas stopped again since apparently he wasn't capable of forming complete sentences anymore._

_"You want me," Dean hissed, and a familiar coiling in Cas' stomach began to build._

_"I-Dean."His eyes flew shut, and all breath escaped him for a moment._

_"You want me Cas," and orgasm rocked through his body._


End file.
